Equal Pay Act 1972

General provisions - Notices, penalties, and enforcement

18: Penalty for non-compliance

You could also call this:

"Breaking pay rules can cost you up to $10,000 or $20,000"

If you do not follow certain rules, you can get a penalty. You can get a penalty if you are an individual and do not follow the rules, and the penalty can be up to $10,000. If you are a company, the penalty can be up to $20,000.

You must follow rules like not differentiating pay based on sex, as stated in section 2AAC(a), and not discriminating, as stated in section 2A. You also must follow rules about pay equity claims, like entering into the pay equity bargaining process, as stated in section 13S(2)(c) or 13ZZAB(2)(b).

If you break these rules, someone can take you to court to get the penalty. This can be the employee, a Labour Inspector, or someone else involved in the pay equity claim. You are involved in a failure to comply if you would be treated as a person involved in a breach within the meaning of section 142W of the Employment Relations Act 2000.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM408312.


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Part 5General provisions
Notices, penalties, and enforcement

18Penalty for non-compliance

  1. A person who fails to comply with a provision listed in subsection (2), and every person who is involved in the failure to comply, is liable,—

  2. if the person is an individual, to a penalty not exceeding $10,000:
    1. if the person is a company or another body corporate, to a penalty not exceeding $20,000.
      1. The provisions are as follows:

      2. section 2AAC(a) (which imposes a duty on employers to not differentiate on the basis of sex in the remuneration paid to employees who perform the same, or substantially similar, work):
        1. section 2A (which relates to unlawful discrimination):
          1. section 13S(2)(c) or 13ZZAB(2)(b) (which impose a duty on an employer to enter into the pay equity bargaining process if the employer decides or the Authority or court determines that a pay equity claim has merit):
            1. section 13ZZAC(2)(b) (which imposes a duty on an employer to resume the process of selecting appropriate comparators and assessing a pay equity claim if the Authority or the court determines that 1 or more appropriate comparators are available for selection for use in assessing the claim):
              1. section 13ZZAD(2)(b) (which imposes a duty on an employer to resume the assessment of a pay equity claim if the Authority or the court determines that all of the employees covered by the claim perform work that is the same or substantially similar):
                1. section 13C (which imposes a duty on parties to deal with one another in good faith during the pay equity claim process):
                  1. section 13ZZF (which imposes a duty on employers to keep records relating to pay equity claims).
                    1. The penalties specified in subsection (1) also apply to—

                    2. an employer who, knowingly or recklessly,—
                      1. fails to comply with the duty under section 13V to notify affected employees of a union-raised pay equity claim that the employer has decided has merit; or
                        1. provides misleading information in a notice given under section 13V; and
                        2. a union that knowingly or recklessly fails to comply with the requirements of section 13ZF(3).
                          1. Any action for the recovery of a penalty may be brought,—

                          2. in the case of a breach described in subsection (2)(a) or (b),—
                            1. by the employee in relation to whom the breach is alleged to have taken place; or
                              1. by a Labour Inspector; or
                              2. in the case of a breach described in subsection (2)(d), by any person in relation to whom the breach is alleged to have taken place; or
                                1. in the case of a breach described in subsection (2)(c), (ca), (cb), or (e) or (3), by an employee who is a claimant in, or who is covered by, the relevant pay equity claim.
                                  1. For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is involved in a failure to comply if the person would be treated as a person involved in a breach within the meaning of section 142W of the Employment Relations Act 2000.

                                  Notes
                                  • Section 18: replaced, on , by section 23 of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 45).
                                  • Section 18(2)(c): amended, on , by section 46(1)(a) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
                                  • Section 18(2)(c): amended, on , by section 46(1)(b) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
                                  • Section 18(2)(c): amended, on , by section 46(1)(c) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
                                  • Section 18(2)(ca): inserted, on , by section 46(2) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
                                  • Section 18(2)(cb): inserted, on , by section 46(2) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
                                  • Section 18(3)(a)(i): amended, on , by section 46(3) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
                                  • Section 18(4)(c): amended, on , by section 46(4) of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).